A DRIVER travelling at 125mph on the M4 holds the record for the highest speed recorded by South Wales Police in the past year.
South Wales Police was the only Welsh force to have submitted figures on speeding following a Freedom of Information request.
It reports the speed was reached on two occasions between junction 34 (Miskin) and junction 35 (Pencoed).
The limit in that area was 70mph, meaning the drivers were travelling at 55mph over the legal maximum.
The next highest speed was 119mph, recorded at Aberfan, Merthyr Tydfil, where the limit is 70mph.
But the Miskin to Pencoed stretch of the M4 then crops up again, with speeds of 116mph and 114mph recorded in the 70mph zone.
The figures have been collated by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).
It asked 39 police authorities in England and Wales to supply figures for highest speeds recorded between April, 2013, and May, 2014.
Top of the list was a motorist on the M25 at Swanley who was clocked travelling at 149mph.
And here are some more stats:
The highest speed recorded on a 30mph road was 96mph on the B1288, in Leam Lane, Gateshead.
The highest speed recorded on a 50mph road was on the A414 Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, where a motorist clocked 119mph
The highest speed recorded on a 60mph road was 127mph on the A413 Wendover By-Pass, Wendover.
The guidelines to magistrates on sentencing for speeding include:
70mph road: For driving between 101 and 110mph. Fine plus 6 points or disqualified for 7-56 days.
50mph road: For driving between 76 and 85mph. Fine plus 6 points or disqualified for 7-56 days.
30mph road: For driving between 51 and 60mph. Fine plus 6 points or disqualified for 7-56 days.
IAM chief executive Simon Best said: “149 miles per hour equates to nearly two and a half miles in a minute. If anything goes wrong at that speed, you’re unlikely to walk away and you are a grave danger to the innocent road users around you.
“Speed limits are a limit. They are not a target to beat. Unfortunately this message has not got through to many motorists and it’s clear that efforts to make speeding as socially unacceptable as drink driving continue to fail.
“That’s why we need sustained campaigning by the government, motor industry and charities to keep ramming home the message that excessive speed kills.
“Catching speeders at two or even three times the limit also shows the importance of keeping speed cameras at well-known black spots.
“The current guidelines on sentencing for excessive speeding offences are out of sync with modern roads, modern vehicles and society’s view of the value of lives lost in crashes.
“We all share the roads with these speeding drivers and the government must crack down on them with more consistent penalties and tougher measures to break their addiction for speed.”